Memory of the One
by somewhereinthedreams
Summary: Jakes' only link to his past are memories. Set post-Season 3.


**A/N: As promised...Here's the first fic for the ficathon. I'll be posting fics daily for the next week. I'm toying with the idea of turning this into a oneshot series (one per agent post-finale), but haven't made up my mind yet. Enjoy and let me know what you think.**

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 **December 2015**

Jakes glanced out of the window and watched Courtney hang up a few things on the clothesline. They had been here a few weeks and were planning on staying at least for the next few months. He supposed it was home.

The first few months after he left Graceland, they moved around alot. Never staying in the same place for more than a week. He was meticulous about moving the money into untraceable accounts and getting new identities set up for them.

He was monitoring things as best he could without using any contacts. He resigned from his job, citing personal reasons and gave a lame excuse about traveling the world so ICE wouldn't search for him.

The only search party he was concerned about consisted of five federal agents.

Jakes sighed. How in the hell did he get to this place? He abandoned his son and his job. Graceland used to be just a house to him, but when he was spiraling out of control earlier this year it became so much more. And he walked away. From it. From his friends. From everything.

And for what? Money? A chance at freedom? Love? Starting over?

He loved Courtney more than he ever thought possible. Even more than Cassandra. But sometimes he wondered about her. What kind of woman abandoned her life without asking any questions. Her career was done. What kind of secrets was she hiding? Not that he was in any sort of position to judge.

Jakes glanced out the window again and pulled out his phone. He tapped on the password giving him access to his cloud space and looked at Daniel's school picture from last year. Cassandra had actually sent it to him. Of course this was before he screwed everything up. Aside from the legal trouble with her, he was pretty sure that quitting his job and stealing millions of dollars wouldn't look too good in the eyes of family court. He kept scrolling through pictures of Daniel, wishing that he had more.

He didn't wish for much, but he wished he hadn't destroyed his chance at rebuilding a relationship with his son.

He kept scrolling through pictures and stopped when he came across one taken a few summers ago. It was one of the few group shots they had of the whole group. It was taken last summer before Mike left.

Maybe his reaction had been too extreme. But he wasn't going to jail to keep Briggs' secret. As far as he was concerned his debt to Briggs had been paid up last year. As for dealing with the legal consequences, that wasn't for any of them to decide. Every single one of them had done unspeakable things. Both to people that deserved it and to each other. Whatever judgment he was due, was between him and his conscience. And he didn't regret what he did. When his son's safety was in jeopardy, he would do whatever needed to be done to protect it.

Even if he wanted to come home, he wasn't sure he could. He wasn't sure who he could reach out to see where things stood, legally. He didn't know if he needed to stay underground forever or be grateful that his girlfriend was a lawyer.

He didn't trust Briggs. He couldn't live in the same house with him and pretend everything was just fine when _nothing_ was fine. Just about every horrible thing that happened this year could be traced back to Paul Briggs. But since it was all for the _greater good_ somehow that got him a pass.

Charlie would want him to trust Briggs. She wasn't immune to his shit or unscathed from his sins, but she forgave him every damn time. He couldn't.

He wasn't sure where Johnny's head was at. Everything that happened with Lucia changed him. He actually shot Briggs, but with time he would forgive Briggs. He would probably even forgive him for leaving. But Johnny's greatest strength was his greatest weakness in that he wanted everyone to get along. He was like a little kid with divorced parents, desperate to make his family whole again.

As for Paige, he was close with her. She forgave him after he failed her. But despite their friendship, he didn't doubt that she was taking Mike's side. She _always_ took Mike's side eventually. Now that they weren't fighting anymore or having issues or whatever, they were on the same team. As much as he wanted to reach out to her, he couldn't. Because Mike made his thoughts crystal clear. Not that Paige wasn't her own person, but if she had to choose between him and Mike, there was no choice.

Then there was Mike. Probably the only person he could trust not to lie to him if he called. Everyone else would be desperate to have him home, but Mike was arrogant enough that he would want him to know he put a target on his back. He begrudgingly respected that about the kid. He also wouldn't put it past Mike to try and find him if it served his purposes.

Jakes shook his head and turned off his phone when he heard the backdoor open. There was no point in going over what-ifs. He made sure he couldn't go home again, he was just going to have to live with his choice.

Courtney walked in the room and smiled, "I was thinking we could walk along the pier and eat dinner out tonight."

"Let me guess, some place on the water?"

"Absolutely. It's so peaceful. I'll get changed and then we can head out."

Jakes nodded, not bothering to let her know that it was bad enough living near the water. But dining out on the water as much as she wanted to was almost torture. He was perfectly fine staying on the mainland. But since that was well known to his former roommates, it was also one of the last places they would think he would be.

He made his way out to the living room and settled onto the sofa. He leaned back and closed his eyes. His thoughts filled with memories of his old life. As much shit as they had put each other through, there had been some good times.

But that was all in the past. That life was behind him.

It was time to make new memories.

THE END


End file.
